SOAP CREEK ARTISAN MEMBERS

Dale Draeger

MEDIUM:

Acrylics

ARTIST STATEMENT:

After the initial glimpse, look! Over there, the grasses turn red at the top! And here the sun comes through the leaves of the maple trees and gives them a glow on the edges then makes them gold. The light fades in the distance and the hillside is blue and ever so slightly violet. Everything in this scene is green, but so many shades - blue green, yellow green, underlying reds and purples! The water is almost black in the shadows and the reflections are yellow!

It is this joy of the opportunity to jump visualy into the landscape and swim around that excites and inspires each painting. Using composition and color, I seek to give the viewer the feeling of being at each site and to participate in the everyday ecstasy of it. Many layers of sometimes contrasting colors create a sense of depth to the paintings.

I work with high quality acrylic paint. A completed work often contains countless layers of paint before the finishing highlights and clear protective sealer are applied.